NCJ Number
81891
Journal
Criminologie Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (1981) Pages: 7-29
Date Published
1981
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The study examines the relationship between the specific cultural orientation of a society on one hand and the crime rates and criminal justice system on the other.
Abstract
It is contended that a cultural crisis has occurred in the West because of rapid social changes over the last 50 years, e.g., democratization and improved opportunities for women. Each society produces a unique set of definitions for deviant behavior, and societies in which values and norms for individual conduct are contradictory are classified as non-integrated, in contrast to integrated societies, in which harmony exists between values and mechanisms of social regulation. In integrated societies, the separation of powers is largely formal, while in nonintegrated societies the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are separate systems which stand in opposition to one another. Only partially integrated societies can maintain an equilibrium among the powers. Criminology plays a different role in each type of society; in the integrated socialist society the criminologist is a social engineer, while in traditional societies the conflict between traditional and modern justice predominates. The typology established in the study classifies societies as postindustrial, industrial, and preindustrial, with different approaches to criminal justice and criminology in each group and subgroup. It is concluded that the absence of consensus in a culture exacerbates conflicts and makes compromise impossible. Furthermore, occidental criminology is cautioned to be very careful in its contacts with the rest of the world not to project its complexes, biases, and cultural conflicts on other societies. A bibliography is supplied.